pay-to-play

(pā′tə-plā′)

Any of various arrangements in which payment is rendered in exchange for a specific right, service, or privilege, often one for which a charge would not always be expected, especially:

a. one in which participants pay to take part in a sport or game.

b. one in which entertainers, performers, or artists pay for public exposure of their work.

c. one in which political influence or appointments are given in exchange for contributions to a party or candidate.

d. one in which producers or distributors pay for favorable placements of their products.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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References in periodicals archive

The suit claims that the bank collected money from private mortgage insurance providers to refer customers under its pay-to-play reinsurance scheme.

-Judge asks BofA to face charges over insurance kickbacks

And while elected officials routinely maintain the donations come with no strings attached, the growing amount of money flowing into campaign accounts, frequent violations of campaign reporting laws and recent scandals involving alleged influence pedaling by ranking legislative leaders are breeding new concerns about a "pay-to-play" culture on Beacon Hill.

Reformers target `pay-to-play' ethos; Campaign fundraising under scrutiny

The survey of 10,000 net users in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden will be welcomed by the big record companies, who have struggled to get consumers to switch from Napster-style free song-swap services to their own pay-to-play sites.

Amy's i: Net News

Users who register at Chameleon 24:7@Lycos will be able to access the pay-to-play gaming software which allows users to buy or rent games.

Lycos Europe in joint venture with EDGE Media Network

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